


Unconditionally

by Tori_Scribbles



Series: In A Foxes Hole [3]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Allison Reynolds Is A Lesbian, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, During: The Kings Men, Everyone Is Gay, Everyone Needs A Hug, Everyone Needs Therapy, F/F, Families of Choice, Minor Injuries, Missing Scene, NaNoWriMo 2018, Unconventional Families
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2019-08-25 10:04:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16659119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tori_Scribbles/pseuds/Tori_Scribbles
Summary: As Foxes, they were all used to seeing people looking a little roughed up. Hell, they’d seen Neil after Christmas, but this was worse. His blue eyes were blank as he stared at the floor in front of him. It simultaneously made Allison want to throw up, cry and hurt somebody.





	Unconditionally

**Author's Note:**

> Continuing on from Wanting To Be Found but can be read alone  
> Before, during and after the hotel scene from The Foxes (specifically Allison's) perspective.

Once they got to Maryland, Allison forced herself to move off of the bus, following the Foxes across the parking lot of a motel it felt like she was in a daze. There was one too many black SUV’s around to be casual and a surprising amount of people hanging around at this time of the morning.

A tall woman was leaning back against the door to the office, she slid her phone into the pocket of her blazer and straightened up as they came closer.

“My name is Special Agent Kelly,” she said, showing Wymack some ID. “I believe my college Special Agent Browning explained the situation to you.”

“Not really,” Wymack said curtly and Special Agent Kelly pursed her lips.

“Let’s go somewhere more private and we can talk,” she said, not waiting for a response before she headed up a metal staircase.

Allison glanced across at Renee who hadn’t left her side since the riot but Renee’s eyes were fixed on Andrew, almost as if she was waiting to grab him before he tried to attack a Federal Agent.

Agent Kelly led them into a room upstairs with two Queen Sized beds, once everyone was inside she closed the door and pulled the drapes closed.

“Make yourselves comfortable,” she said, “this could take a while.”

The Foxes exchanged uncertain looks and it wasn’t until Dan nodded that any of them moved. Dan, Matt, Nicky and Aaron sat a little awkwardly on one bed while Renee and Allison sat on the other and Andrew stood defiantly between that bed and the door.

Wymack shot him a warning look but leant back against the dresser, Abby by his side.

“So,” Agent Kelly said, “as I’m sure you’re aware at this point that Neil Josten is not who he says he is. Neil Josten doesn’t exist. Nathaniel Wesninski is in custody and we have enough to charge him everything from fraud to the disappearance of his mother. Now—”

“No.”

“Excuse me, Mr…”

“Boyd,” Matt said bluntly. “Matthew Boyd. And no. We’re not answering any of your questions or splitting up until we know that Neil is okay and see him.”

“Mr Boyd, let me make this clear. This is an active FBI investigation, by refusing to cooperate you’re—”

“Obstructing Justice, yeah, we know,” Nicky said, “we plead the fifth or whatever. Just let us see Neil.”

Agent Kelly looked around at all of them, but none of the Foxes moved to contradict either teammate and when she seemed to realise they were in agreement she looked up at Wymack and Abby for help but they too didn’t say a word.

Finally, Agent Kelly sighed. “Alright,” she said, “I need to call my supervisor.” She stepped back towards the door, pulling her phone back out of her pocket.

“Wait!” Allison called out before she could stop herself.

“Allison,” Dan said sharply but Allison waved her away.

Agent Kelly turned back to her with a raised eyebrow. “Miss…”

“Reynolds, Allison Reynolds.”

“Yes, Miss Reynolds?”

“Is he going to be arrested?” Allison asked.

“I’m not at liberty to discuss that,” Agent Kelly said tersely.

“I need to know when the best time to call his lawyer.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Allison saw Andrew shift but he thankfully kept his mouth shut.

“Mr Wesninski has not expressed an interest in contacting his lawyer at this time,” Agent Kelly said.

“Well, he wouldn’t be able to. We have his cell phone and Neil isn’t great at remembering numbers,” she said, which was a blatant lie but Agent Kelly didn’t know that.

Agent Kelly sighed, digging a pen and notepad from her pocket, she held it out to Allison who took it with a satisfied smile. She scribbled down the number from memory and handed it back. Agent Kelly checked what she’d written and then left without another word, shutting the door behind her.

“Neil doesn’t have lawyers,” Nicky said, looking at Allison in confusion but she shrugged.

“But I do,” she said easily, like paying your friends potentially expensive legal bills was an everyday occurrence, “and they’re the best at what they do.”

“Do you think they’ll let us see him?” Dan asked quietly.

“Yes.” Andrew’s answer left no room for argument or negotiation. Just a statement of fact.

“If they want answers and neither he nor us will talk, they’ll have to,” Allison said, “if they had enough or were going to, they would’ve charged him by now.”

They all looked at her questioningly.

“What?” She wrapped her arms around herself defensively. “My mom’s a lawyer.”

Andrew, Renee and Aaron were the only people who didn’t look surprised by this new piece of information. Andrew probably didn’t care, Renee knew almost everything about Allison at this point and Aaron… well, Neil wasn’t the first person Allison had offered legal help with.

To nobody’s surprise, Allison was right. Despite the Feds attempts to intimidate or threaten the Foxes, none of them said a word outside of “we want to see Neil.”

As the sun started to rise Abby and Wymack were trying to argue with the Federal Agents about getting more rooms so the Foxes could rest so Renee and Kevin could sleep off their concussions. Allison was dosing on the end of one of the beds while Renee absently played with her hair. She must have drifted off because she woke with a start to raised voices and a loud thud.

She shot upright, scanning the room for any sign of danger but the rest of the team looked equally as tired and confused until they realised that the raised voice was Andrew’s, and Andrew wasn’t in the room.

Nicky and Aaron exchanged a worried look and Nicky moved towards the door. But before he got there it was pushed open and Andrew was lead back in by Wymack, with Abby trailing behind them with a frustrated look on her face.

“Wha— oh.” Nicky’s words died on his lips as he realised why Andrew was standing so close to Wymack. Somebody, probably the FBI had deemed it necessary to cuff Andrew’s left hand to Wymack’s right.

“What did you do?” Dan asked tiredly but all she got was a dark glare in return.

“Neil has been discharged from hospital and is on his way,” Wymack said and it felt as though some of the tension in the room slipped away.

“How long?” Matt asked, pushing himself upright, but he seemed to regret the action immediately as he put weight on one of his hands and grunted in pain, drawing it close to his chest.

“About ten minutes,” Abby said, moving her medical box onto the nightstand and digging through it for some painkillers. Matt took those offered but Renee declined with a quiet shake of her head.

“I—we—” Wymack gave Andrew a frustrated look. “Have to go and move the bus. The last thing we want is anyone seeing the bus surrounded by a bunch of feds.”

Andrew glared but didn’t say anything as he and Wymack left.

Abby redid some bandages and was halfway through taping an icepack to Matt’s hand when the door opened again.

An unfamiliar man stepped into the room, but judging by the suit, he was just another Fed. He clapped loudly as if he didn’t already have everyone’s attention.

“Listen up, people,” he said like he was about to give a pep talk. “You’ve got twenty minutes. Let’s keep this orderly and only have one person at a time.”

Once again, they seemed to expect them to just accept that as the Agent started to turn away, ignoring the protests of the team.

“Twenty minutes? You’ve got to be joking. Why do—oh my god…” Dan trailed off as Neil stepped into the room and Allison felt the air rush from her lungs. He had a hood pulled up but that did nothing to hide the bandages and gauze covering most of his cheeks. More bandages were wrapped around his hands and fingers, disappearing up his sleeves and what wasn’t covered in tape or clothes was turning into angry looking bruises.

As Foxes, they were all used to seeing people looking a little roughed up. Hell, they’d seen Neil after Christmas, but this was worse. His blue eyes were blank as he stared at the floor in front of him. It simultaneously made Allison want to throw up, cry and hurt somebody.

“Oh my god, Neil,” Dan repeated softly. “Are you okay?”

Neil opened his mouth, but no words came out, he seemed to struggle for a minute before finally looking around at them. He let his eyes rest on each of them for a moment, as though he was assessing the damage and trying to memorise their faces all at once.

Neil scanned over them again as he realised that this wasn’t everybody and he suddenly looked more panicked than Allison had ever seen him.

“Where’s Andr—”

There was a loud thud and then a lot happened at once. Andrew shoved his way into the room, Wymack blocked one of the feds from reaching him and Neil grabbed the other. He tried to yank the Feds arm away from Andrew but seemed to forget about his injured hands. He stumbled away, hunching protectively over his arms with a noise of pain that alone made Allison feel sick.

The noise made the struggle falter and Andrew used that to his advantage, he bought his hand to the back of Neil’s neck, and the touch seemed to draw Neil back to the present. He tried to straighten up but at the pained gasp he gave, Andrew forced him down to his knees.

Wymack warned the Agents back as Andrew knelt in front of Neil, grasping his chin with his free hand, forcing Neil to meet his eyes

It was a strangely vulnerable position for two of the most closed off people Allison knew. But as they sat like that for several minutes, taking in the extent of each other’s injuries, it felt like a missing puzzle piece was being set into place.

“They could have blinded you,” Neil said, in reference to Andrew’s half bloodshot eye, like that was the worst injury between the two of them. “All that time fighting and you never learned how to duck?”

Andrew didn’t say anything, just yanked Neil’s hood down. Neil’s back blocked whatever Andrew was doing, but going by the sound, and the way Neil kept tensing, Allison guessed that Andrew was inspecting the damage under the bandages for himself.

Whatever there was made Andrew tense and Wymack’s face twisted in a way that for a brief moment Allison thought he would be sick. “Christ, Neil,” he said and after everything that the Foxes had dealt with, Allison didn’t think any of them had ever seen Coach look so horrified.

The other bed creaked as Matt went to stand up but Wymack jerked his hand out.

“Don’t,” he said and Allison didn’t know if he wanted to give the boys space or if he didn’t want the rest of the team to see the damage. Either way, Matt sunk back onto the bed.

The Agent that bought him in reminding them that it was one at a time but nobody cared what he had to say.

Andrew moved Neil’s head again, taking in the full extent of his face with a dark fury in his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Neil said, his voice hoarse and broken.

Andrew’s fist went back as if to punch him and the whole room tensed. Wymack shifted behind him, his own arm being bought back as he readied himself to stop Andrew if needed. But he didn’t. Andrew’s arm shook and his face twisted as he considered taking a swing and either way Neil made no indication of moving or stopping him. After several tense minutes, he uncurled his fingers and let his arm hang from Wymack’s.

“Say that again and I will kill you,” he said quietly and nobody was stupid enough to doubt him.

“This is the last time I’m going to say it to you,” the second agent said and Andrew’s jaw tensed. “If you can’t stow that attitude and behave—”

Neil’s head shot up. “You’ll what, asshole?”

And despite herself, Allison’s lips curled into an amused smile.

“The same goes for you, Nathaniel,” the first agent warned, going on to threaten to end this all here and now.

Andrew shifted as if to rise to his feet and the foxes tensed, all ready to step in before Andrew took a federal agent’s head off but Neil got there first. His hands hovered either side of Andrew’s face. They shared an unreadable look and whatever they conveyed to each other got Andrew to settle back down and once he did, Neil looked back up at the agent.

“Don’t lie to a liar,” he said curtly. “We both know I’m here because you have nothing without me. A pile of dead bodies can’t close cases or play the money trail with you. I told you what those answers would cost you and you agreed to pay it. So take this handcuff off of Andrew, get your man out of our way, and stop using up my twenty minutes with your useless pondering.”

The Agent’s jaw tightened and at any other time Allison, and judging by the look on his face, Nicky would have laughed.

No matter who he was or wasn't. Some things never changed.

The agent tried to stare Neil down but after several minutes he conceded, waving towards the other who stepped forwards and removed the cuffs with a disgruntled look on his face.

Andrew dropped his hand back against his thigh, his eyes still fixed on Neil.

“So the attitude problem wasn’t an act, at least.”

“I was going to tell you,” Neil said softly but Andrew wasn’t convinced.

“Stop lying to me.”

“I’m not lying. I would have told you last night, but they were in our locker room,” he said and the agents shifted.

“They who?” the first one said.

Neil didn’t hesitate in switching to German, not caring as the feds glared. Allison glanced across at Nicky and Aaron as they openly eavesdropped but neither gave any indication to what was being said.

After a minute of backwards and forwards in German Neil hesitated, before replying.

Whatever he said was bad. Bad enough for Nicky to make a strangled noise and for Aaron to curse viciously, moving across the room to join his cousin.

The sound of the movement made Neil turn almost automatically. Allison reached out automatically, her fingers curling around Renee's she barely aware as Kevin recoiled back into the wall and Dan struggled to keep Matt sitting down.

Allison studied his face, cheeks a mess of thin cuts but it was what wasn’t there that was the most horrific. Where the dark lines of a number four should sit on his cheek was replaced with a dark blistering, circular burn that would never really heal right. Neil’s face had been mutilated once with the tattoo and then again with its removal, only this time there would be no way to remove it or really hide it. This would be a permanent reminder of the violence of his childhood. Allison pressed her knuckles against her mouth to stop herself throwing up.

Abby stepped around the bed as if to go towards him but Andrew glared darkly, turning Neil back away from the team.

“Get away from us,” he snarled viciously.

Abby stopped moving. “Andrew,” she said carefully. “He’s hurt. Let me see him.”

But all she got was a death threat in return. They’d all seen Andrew’s violence. They’d all heard the rumours about his mother and what happened with Nicky years ago, but only now did it really seem to sink in that Andrew was capable and wouldn’t hesitate to really kill someone if it came down to it. It was surprising how much, despite his previous threats and pain, Andrew really had been keeping it controlled. It was chilling.

“Abby,” Neil said, snapping Allison from her thoughts. “I just got out of the hospital. I’m as good as I can be right now.” He didn’t look away from Andrew and when Abby tried to protest, he shut her down quickly. 

They switched back to German and every now and then Nicky would wince and Aaron dropped back against the wall, his eyes fixed on the floor, void of all emotions.

Kevin twitched as his name was bought up but everyone knew better than to interrupt.

Whatever they were saying, Neil sounded confused and hurt but Andrew’s gaze was firm and unwavering and for the first time Nicky’s lips twitched into something that was almost a sad smile.

“You aren’t going anywhere.”

Everyone’s heads shot up as Andrew suddenly switched back to English, his words a statement. A promise.

“You’re staying with us. If they try to take you away they will lose.”

The foxes all shifted, glancing across at each other all of them prepared and willing to intervene with anyone who tried to touch Neil without his permission again.

“Take you away,” Dan echoed. “To where?”

“Are we talking about ‘away for some questioning’ or ‘away for good’?” Matt asked, demanding an answer.

“Both,” the agent said and tensions started to rise again.

“You can’t have him,” Nicky said simply, echoing the earlier and unwavering sentiment. “He belongs with us.”

The agent rambled on about how people would come for him and the FBI was just trying to protect them all, Neil included.

But his words meant nothing to the Foxes. They were in danger every time Andrew went through withdrawal on the court and a target had been hanging over all of their heads since Kevin joined the team, since he told them about Riko’s obsession with him. And now, with Neil’s history on top of that, they understood more than the FBI ever could. They understood the risks, they understood what it could and already cost them.

Allison’s fingers found her necklace unconsciously, two Exy sticks crossed over. It had been a gift from Seth when she struggled with the decision of sport or family. He died because of Riko, because of all of this and the hold the Moriyama’s had over them. And none of them were prepared to lose anyone else because of it.

“What part of ‘go to hell’ do you need us to explain to you?” Allison spat with a venomous glare. The hollowness that Seth's death left had been filling in bit by bit for months, but now there was nothing but hot anger.

“We’re all legal adults here. We’ve made our decision,” Matt spoke up. “Unless he wants to stay with you, you’d better bring Neil back to us when you’re done with all your questions.”

The agent's patience was wearing thin. “Neil isn’t a real person,” he exclaimed. “It’s just a cover that let Nathaniel evade authorities. It’s past time to let him go.”

But it wasn’t.

“Neil or Nathaniel or whoever,” Nicky said fiercely. “He’s ours. And we’re not letting him go. You want us to vote on it or something? Bet you it’ll be unanimous.”

The agent shook his head, turning to Wymack for back up but Wymack looked to Neil.

“Neil,” Wymack said and he looked tired and broken. It was a rare expression for him. Allison had only seen it once before; when he told her that Seth had died. “Talk to me. What do  _you_  want?”

Neil was visibly trembling and when he spoke his words were just as jolted. It made Allison wonder when was the last time Neil had been truly allowed to choose something for himself. “I want—I know I shouldn’t stay, but I can’t—I don’t want to lose this. I don’t want to lose any of you,” he said desperately. “I don’t want to be Nathaniel anymore. I want to be Neil for as long as I can.”

Relief softened the room and Wymack looked as though he wanted to smile but still didn’t quite have the energy for it. 

“Good,” he said, “I’d have a hell of a time fitting ‘Wesninski’ on a jersey.”

The agent rubbed a hand across his face. “I’d like a word with you.”

“About?”

“Your willingness to put your player’s in considerable danger, for one.”

Wymack turned on the Agent before anyone could speak up. “Giving up on Neil now goes against everything we are,” he said. “I’m game to argue with you about it for as long as it takes, but not if it means using up Neil’s allotted time. That’s not fair on any of them.”

Andrew was too impatient for the feds and he turned the conversation back to quiet German. Allison glanced at the clock on the nightstand and realised they were down to the last five minutes.

They seemed to realise this too, Andrew and Neil both rose to their feet and Neil looked past him to Wymack.

“I’m sorry,” he said and didn’t seem to notice as Andrew’s jaw clenched. “I should have told you, but I couldn’t.”

Wymack shook his head. “Don’t worry about that now. Twenty minutes isn’t near long enough for this conversation. We can talk about it on the ride back to campus, right?”

Neil nodded slightly. “Yes. I promise,” he said, “I just have to talk to them first.”

“Then go,” Dan said, speaking up for the first time in a while, drawing everyone’s attention to her. “But come back to us as soon as they’re done with you, okay? We’ll figure this out as a team.”

“As a family,” Nicky said softly with a slight, weak smile.

Neil looked between them all slowly, such an open look of vulnerability on his face. Like he’d never had people stand together for him before. Like he’d never seen such love and support directed at him and didn’t know how to react. It made Allison’s heart ache even more and she imagined if there was any more pain tonight she might truly break.

Finally, Neil swallowed thickly. “Thank you,” he said, his words quiet but sincere, like that was all he had left.

Allison tried to brush it away with a casual wave and smile. “No, thank you,” she said, doing anything to lighten the mood before she cracked and Neil looked across at her in confusion. “You just closed three outstanding bets and made me five hundred bucks. I’d rather find out exactly why and when you two hooked up than think about this awfulness any longer, so let’s talk about that on the ride back instead.”

She waited for a beat to see if they’d deny it as Aaron glared and Nicky gaped. But Neil just stared at her, like that was the last thing he thought she’d say but after a full minute, he turned back to Andrew who looked uninterested in this whole revelation.

“Ready?”

Unsurprisingly, the feds seemed to have an issue with Andrew tagging along, but when Wymack made it clear that it was the only way to ensure cooperation they conceded unhappily.

“We’ll wait for you, all right?” Wymack said as they turned to leave. “As long as it takes, Neil.”

Neil cast his eyes across the team once again and nodded before following the Agents out of the door.

Nobody moved for several minutes until finally Nicky dropped his head in his hands and let out a long breath.

“Why the fuck would they do that to him?” he asked, more to himself than anyone else.

“What did he say?” Matt asked quietly like he didn't really want an answer. “In German?”

It was unusual for anyone to question when the cousins started switching languages. Mostly, the team learnt to not ask.

“Andrew told him that he was a fox and that we wouldn’t leave him,” Aaron said with a quiet hesitation, “they got their stories straight and Neil said that whoever did that to him... they used a cigarette lighter.”

Allison gasped as a horrified wave went around the room. Kevin bought his hand up, brushing his fingers over his own tattoo as if to protect it from the same fate.

“He’s coming back though,” Matt said, his voice soft but so sure, “Andrew will see to that and then we can go home.”

“Until then you should all try and get some rest,” Wymack said, “I’ll go down and see if I can get us a couple of extra rooms and if any of you want to order food, now’s the time to do it.” He put the team’s credit card on the desk and headed out of the room, Abby close behind.

There was a slight dispute over what to order as nobody really had an appetite after that but deciding they should eat something, they just settled on pizza and for once, Kevin didn’t even argue about how unhealthy it was.

Dan phoned the order through after finding a stack of takeaway menus in the desk drawer and they all settled down, trying to make conversations that didn’t seem awkward.

Wymack and Abby came back at around the same time the pizza arrived, they handed out a bunch of keys and after four large pizza’s had been devoured they started to group off and head to separate rooms.

Allison followed Renee into a room a few doors down and looked around. It was no resort, but it would do for now.

She dumped her bag on the end of the bed furthest from the door, knowing Renee didn’t like things blocking her exit and stepped up in front of the long mirror. Pulling the bands out of her hair, she combed out the French braids she wore for the match out with her fingers and let her hair hang past her shoulders in curls.

The bruising around her face was darker than it was back at the hospital, but she could open her eye more and it only really hurt when the light was too bright or she touched it which she counted as a win. She inspected the grazes on her hands and knee’s without much care; they were just scratches, they would heal and she let her fingers brush over the marks on her forearm. She remembered the guy grabbing her arm and trying to pull her against him and when she’d hit him, he’d just tightened his grip and hit her back. Allison didn’t want to think about what would have happened if Renee hadn’t stepped in.

“Are you okay?” Renee asked softly, stepping up behind her. Allison didn’t turn around, just watched their reflections.

“No,” Allison replied truthfully. “Are you?”

Renee shook her head. “I don’t think any of us are after today,” she said, “but we will be.” And not for the first time Allison envied how easy Renee’s faith seemed to be.

“How’re your hands?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Sore, but I’ve had worse. I’ll be good as new within the week,” Renee said, turning her hands over in front of her.

One of them was just badly scraped up, between falling on smashed beer bottles scraped knuckles, there was a lot more blood than actual damage. And her other hand had been set in a splint, the doctors said it was likely just soft tissue damage. To which Renee had shrugged and said, “Sometimes that happens when you break a man’s jaw.”

Allison finally turned so they were facing, letting her eyes drift over Renee’s face. She too had dark bruising around one of her eyes and another on her jaw. But all things considered, they’d both been pretty lucky. They all had. Except for Neil.

“Thank you,” Allison said, “for getting that guy off of me.”

Renee smiled softly and Allison found herself watching the way her lips curved. “You could have taken him,” she said.

“Maybe with a racquet in my hands but not on my own like you did,” Allison said softly.

Renee tucked a piece of Allison’s hair back over her shoulder, letting her hand linger on her shoulder for a beat too long. “You shouldn’t underestimate yourself, Allison,” she said, her voice soft but every bit sincere.

Allison’s lips curled into a gentle smile, a warmth growing in her chest that she hadn’t felt in so long it almost hurt to think about. It was the feeling you got when you received unconditional support and love. Whether familial, friendship, or more. Allison couldn’t remember a time when her parents felt that way about her, and with Seth… well, things were always a little bit too complicated to really be unconditional.

But the rest of the foxes, they didn’t care. They didn’t care where you came from or who your family were. They just cared about what you did, the choices you’ve made and the way you played.

With Renee, it was always different though.

Renee was unconditional.

Renee was simple and exciting and a million different things. She didn’t judge. She didn’t get angry like Seth did. She didn’t get disappointed like her parents did. She didn’t overlook her like some of their teammates. She was just there. A sure constant. Never wavering.

Allison drew forward before she could stop herself. She ducked her head down, brushing her lips against Renee’s. It was barely a kiss before she realised what she was doing. She pulled away with a sharp gasp, an apology already halfway out of her mouth before Renee moved and her words faltered.

With the hand on her shoulder, Renee drew her closer, reaching up to cup her cheek with her other hand, all but dragging her back down to her height.

Their lips met in a soft kiss, mouths moving against each other in perfect tandem and for a pure, blissful moment, Allison forgot about all the horrors of the last few months. She just let herself drift away in the subtle smell of Renee’s vanilla spray and the taste of cookie dough ice cream. And it was in that moment, Allison truly understood that there were some things that money couldn’t buy.

Eventually, their need for oxygen outweighed the longing to get lost in each other forever and they pulled apart, foreheads resting against each other as they came back to earth.

After a minute, Allison opened her eyes, Renee was watching her through her lashes with a soft smile on her lips and a glint in her eyes.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for a while,” Allison confessed.

“Me too,” Renee breathed, “but I didn’t know you…”

“Weren’t straight?” Allison laughed, pulling back slightly but lacing her fingers with Renee’s without disturbing the splints. “Please, I’m a Fox. None of us are straight.”

Renee grinned. “You’re not wrong,” she said, then seemed to realise something and groaned. “Fuck.”

“What?”

“I owe Andrew fifty bucks,” she said, looking down with an embarrassed laugh. “He said something would happen before the end of senior year.”

“Does Andrew Minyard have a better gaydar than you?” Allison laughed, flicking at Renee’s pastel rainbow hair. “You’re a whole ass gay icon, Renee Walker.”

Renee made a sound that could almost be classed as a giggle. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You should,” Allison said quietly, reaching forward to press a quick, more chaste kiss against Renee’s lips, drawing the shorter girl into her arms. They stood there for a moment, Allison’s cheek resting on top of Renee’s head, listening to Nicky, Aaron and Kevin arguing through the walls.

“What do you think’s gonna happen?” Allison asked quietly and Renee considered it for a moment.

“We’ll go home, injuries will heal, we’ll take spring break to try and fix ourselves back up and then…” Renee hesitated. “Then when season starts again, we’re gonna kick Edgar Allen’s ass.”

“Don’t—” Allison bit her lip anxiously. “Don’t tell the others, but I’m scared. They got to Seth… but they got to Andrew and Neil too…”

“I’m scared too,” Renee admitted, and Allison recoiled slightly, looking down at her in surprise. Renee gave a sad smile at her look of surprise but lead her over to the bed. They lay together like they had a thousand times before, Allison’s head on Renee’s shoulder, their legs tangled together, fingers intertwined.

“When Seth died and Andrew was… in hospital, we were a mess,” Renee said, twirling a strand of Allison’s blonde hair around her finger absently. “But it’s different now. We know more about each other. We have each other’s backs, on and off the court. That never would have happened a year ago. We’re safer now than we’ve ever been.”

“What if it’s not enough?”

“It will be,” Renee said, “with the publicity of it all, it has to be.”

Allison pressed herself closer to Renee as the fighting died down in the next room over and she forced herself to believe her, because if she didn’t; Allison knew she would crumble and she didn't know if she'd be able to come back from that.

**Author's Note:**

> All mistakes are my own  
> Comments and kudos are appreciated


End file.
